[Olddriver60]

I’ve had my car for 10+ months, and just wondered on the general satisfaction among owners with their 2 GC?

My verdict is as follows
This 218i sport DCT auto is the fifth BMW I’ve had so I feel able to benchmark against a variety of previous models E87 116i, E82 118d, F30 320i and F30 LCI 318i auto, I’ve been happy with all of the other cars and this current car is living up to expectations whilst it might be sacrilege to many I now prefer the FWD platform the car just seems more sure footed especially on Scottish roads in winter I’ve done a couple of long road trips up to the Orkney islands to visit our daughter and the car has excelled on these trips being smooth, quiet with good performance and comfortable ride (on the 17” wheels) and impressive economy for a car of this size, the 7 speed DCT transmission performs seamlessly and I would rate it as being 99.9% as good as the 8 speed ZF torque converter gearbox fitted in my last car, the live cockpit professional instrument panel is a big leap forward in technology compared to the analogue set up before as is the i drive 7.0 over previous versions in the other cars, the passive and active safety systems are also a step forward. The adaptive LED headlights with HBA are excellent and whilst I’ve only made limited use of the park assist function the reversing camera is something I now wouldn’t want to be without

No gripes other than lumber support was a £150 option, come on BMW it should be standard!

Had the 220i been available when I ordered this car I might have been tempted to “push the boat out” and gone for the larger engine but in reality the 218i is more than enough for my present, old retired guy needs and justifying the £2.5k difference for the engine upgrade probably wouldn’t have made sense.

But overall I would say it’s a great package as a car.



I await comments 😀

[CSD979967]

Originally Posted by Olddriver60

I’ve had my car for 10+ months, and just wondered on the general satisfaction among owners with their 2 GC?

My verdict is as follows
This 218i sport DCT auto is the fifth BMW I’ve had so I feel able to benchmark against a variety of previous models E87 116i, E82 118d, F30 320i and F30 LCI 318i auto, I’ve been happy with all of the other cars and this current car is living up to expectations whilst it might be sacrilege to many I now prefer the FWD platform the car just seems more sure footed especially on Scottish roads in winter I’ve done a couple of long road trips up to the Orkney islands to visit our daughter and the car has excelled on these trips being smooth, quiet with good performance and comfortable ride (on the 17” wheels) and impressive economy for a car of this size, the 7 speed DCT transmission performs seamlessly and I would rate it as being 99.9% as good as the 8 speed ZF torque converter gearbox fitted in my last car, the live cockpit professional instrument panel is a big leap forward in technology compared to the analogue set up before as is the i drive 7.0 over previous versions in the other cars, the passive and active safety systems are also a step forward. The adaptive LED headlights with HBA are excellent and whilst I’ve only made limited use of the park assist function the reversing camera is something I now wouldn’t want to be without

No gripes other than lumber support was a £150 option, come on BMW it should be standard!

Had the 220i been available when I ordered this car I might have been tempted to “push the boat out” and gone for the larger engine but in reality the 218i is more than enough for my present, old retired guy needs and justifying the £2.5k difference for the engine upgrade probably wouldn’t have made sense.

But overall I would say it’s a great package as a car.



I await comments 😀

Agree with all the comments on this. I've drove a fair few cars in my time and bought my M235 coming from an Audi SUV I thought comfort was going to be the biggest difference however since driving it I believe this has been a hell of a lot more comfier than that.

It's unbeatable on the Scottish back roads in the highlands in my opinion. Think the only drawback for me sometimes is the city driving, the car just wants to pull away at good speed in traffic. Can feel the car tempting me to put the foot down 😊

[ReallyRadams]

I have a 228i GC xdrive. I love the car it perfect for what I need. Here in America we have the Aisin 8 speed, didn’t particularly like it at first but it’s grown on me. My mothers Mini has the 7 speed DCT if they are the same (can’t see why not) that is a beautiful transmission. My only complaint with the car is if I let off the gas to move up at a red light the rear end does this weird thing. I think something is engaging. I’ve spoken to my dealership and they said it’s the transmission thinking I’m about to take off. Don’t particular love their BS answer but I do not think it’s anything harming the car. It’s just weird to me.

[mieskone]

Got my 220i in Sep last year,
The power is fine, handling is ok, sound system very good for being the basic one, and it's still a good looking car
but I do have 2 problems with it;
The seat doesn't go low enough, it's like one push away from getting to where I want it to be.(manual adjusting) The seat position just feels a bit too high and hinders the enjoyment of driving.
The gearbox, I got the sportbox with the paddles, and I have to admit I'm a manual guy. I just hate it that sometimes when you press the pedal and want it to go exactly then, literally nothing happens. I've gotten though to used to shift the transmission to sport temporarily every time I want a short sprint.

[Fix_The_Cigarette_Lighter]

All subjective of course. Since you asked, though: We bought our 228 GC last April. It has about 10k miles and it's going to be gone in the next few weeks.

The 228 GC is a nice enough little car. It is sure-footed & stable. The technology is hit & miss. I love the interior and ergonomics, but the suspension is punishing (for a four door sedan with luxury pretenses - the optional 18" wheels don't help). You can feel every wet cigarette butt that you roll over and each bump makes it feel like something has broken (more below). I actually found myself apologizing to passengers for the terrible ride quality. I also feel that the brakes are over-boosted and grabby. Then there's the turbo lag (Yes, it's there. Yes, I know about "sport mode".). The lag on this car is aggravating. If you really need to go from a stop, it fails to deliver. Finally, I admit to missing three pedals a lot more than I thought that I would.

After about 4k miles, I gave up and mostly stopped driving the BMW. Since the car had failed the "fun requirement" for me, I wanted to sell it then & there. My wife asked to keep it, though, and started driving it regularly because the 228i GC was "nicer" than her Prius (which I started driving by default). Unfortunately, she soon found the 2er GC too small for her tastes, overly complicated and didn't like the color. Next she broke a $375 run-flat tire in suburban Denver after she ran over a manhole cover. A giant gash to the sidewall where the wheel impact just destroyed it. Then she broke another $375 run-flat tire (same damage pattern), the next month, on a pothole in suburban Denver.

The next month, after returning from a weekend at the BMW school in Thermal, my wife drove from Denver to Santa Fe (NM) and broke her third run-flat tire (same damage pattern) crossing Raton Pass. She was 175 miles from Santa Fe and 200 miles from Denver. BMW roadside assistance couldn't get her any help that night, so she was stranded in Raton (at our expense). The next morning, on Friday, they hauled the car to the BMW dealer in Santa Fe but nobody in town stocked that tire so she was car-free until Monday afternoon - just in time to drive back to Denver. I've known my wife for 18 years and she has never had a flat tire. Not in DC, FL, CO, NM or Kyrgyzstan (where I was once assigned). With the 228, she had three flats in three months. The 228 can fit a spare tire - I think it's a wise investment. Unfortunately, my wife is now afraid to drive the 228 more than 50 miles or at night. We could drop coin on new wheels and tires, but neither of us really likes the car.

One reason we went to Thermal was to drive some more responsive (inline 6) BMWs a little farther out in the performance envelope on a track. I came away impressed with the engineering of several cars, most notably an M3 (Of course!), but the only car that was really "fun" for me to drive was the Z4 but (still) I thought it needed a manual gear box.

After her third flat tire adventure, my wife ordered a top-of-the-line Mazda CX-5 (which I found drives quite nicely.). I've now got a Miata on order. Sure, the MX-5 is relatively slow (about the same as the 228, but beautifully linear) and it's a total toy but it suits me a lot better. I know that I'm opinionated, but I just want a simpler car that is engaging to drive and doesn't piss me off. In hindsight we should have never bought a (modern) "sports sedan". Its a nice idea, but we wanted a vehicle to do too many competing things and there are a lot of compromises which just didn't work for us. We really needed two quite different vehicles. I wanted something that is engaging & fun to drive and my bride needed something more comfortable, practical and sturdy. In our experience, the 228 isn't really any of that.

It's a shame because the 228 GC is a nice little car, but for somebody else with different requirements.

[cukeuk]

Strange choice going from a four door coupe to a suv, and one here in the uk has a gutless engine. Seems to indicate you purchased the wrong car for your needs in the first place, as the GC and a Mazda suv are both very different beasts.

Still I hope you are happier with the Maxda than you are with the GC, personally I wouldn't give in to the sales marketing hype and never purchase any SUV. They're only estate cars on stilts after all and I cannot understand the obsession with them.

It's probably only the run flat tyres that gave the harsher ride with your GC as they have a far firmer side wall. We don't have them in the UK and I'd describe the ride quality with my car as firm, sporty but never crashy...

[Fix_The_Cigarette_Lighter]

Yeah, cukeuk. Thanks. I mostly agree with you. Given my background, I went into this last car purchase with no real desire to buy a BMW but, after a way-too-short test drive and a recommendation from a non-car-guy friend, I came away thinking that it would be a decent vehicle for our varying needs. It was too much to ask from it. At least at this price level.

I'm not an SUV fan. The cross-over is mostly for the wife's use. I was hesitant to buy another turbo four cylinder with an automatic after the 228, but I find the motor in CX-5 is much more linear & predictable off the line than the 228. Surprisingly, the steering is also more communicative than the 228, at least to me. The wife likes it fine. At this point, though, if the CX-5 doesn't leave her stranded for four days then I'll be happy. The MX-5 is, as described, a toy.

I definitely agree with you about the harshness - the stiff suspension, plus the bigger wheels, plus the lower profile run-flat tires made it too firm for us (and, apparently, the tires too). At least with our roads.

In this situation, though, I'm not sure about the marketing hype. Nobody made us any "ultimate driving machine" style innuendoes regarding the CX-5.

I guess that it's a case of "horses for courses". I suppose that my other lesson is: At my age, I should follow my instincts and just buy what I really want the first time.

Take care.

[cukeuk]

At my age, 67 in November, I did 🤪
One thing Mazda's have is steering feel, whether this came about with their amalgamation with Ford or not I don't know. The Mazda 2 we had was the same, as is our other car, a fiesta. The only thing that let's them down is Mazda's insistence in staying non- turbo with their petrol engines. Even the petrol/diesel hybrid is hardly scintillating as you still have to work the gearbox hard, even though the power delivery in more linear than turbo and the gear change sweet in it's action. After owning turbo petrol engine cars for years I don't think a Mazda would suit my style.
However I hope you enjoy yours...